What’s the best way to learn advanced Python and work with unfamiliar libraries?

Don’t try to memorize entire libraries. Start with a project or a specific problem, identify the few features you need, and read the official documentation for those parts. Try the basic examples, modify them, and build a small working prototype. If the documentation is unclear, inspect a simple example or the library’s source code. Learning how to search for the right function and interpret documentation is more useful than memorizing an API.

A lot of what people call advanced Python is really advanced programming. Along with becoming fluent in Python, study data structures and algorithms, operating-system concepts, testing, debugging, object-oriented design, and basic software architecture. Useful Python-specific topics to tackle next include decorators, context managers, iterators and generators, exceptions, typing, packaging, and asynchronous programming. The most important part is writing plenty of code and solving problems that are difficult enough to make you research and rethink your approach.

When approaching a new library, first define the exact task you need to solve. Check the project’s overview and quick-start guide, install it in a small isolated environment, and make the smallest possible example work. Then look up the relevant classes or functions, read their parameters and examples, and expand your experiment gradually. You only need to understand the parts required for your current task; the rest can be learned as needed.

Build something concrete instead of studying advanced topics in isolation. A small web tool, data-processing script, automation project, or game will naturally expose you to modules, package structure, testing, errors, and external libraries. Break the project into small tasks and add one library at a time so the structure doesn’t become overwhelming.